Jonmc defends the indefensible. Part III. →[More:]Any SMF's in the room?

Yep, I'm talking about Long Island's gift to metal (and the makeup industry), Twisted Fucking Sister. Long before their all-too-brief moment in the commercial sun, in the Northeast, they were local heroes, playing small clubs and for those of us too young to get in*, getting played on local radio, and showing up in the 'import' bins at local record shops (which is where I found my copy of their second album at age 13). This was my inroduction to the 'underground' and to cult fandom.

Sadly the Sister were lumped in with the 'hairbands' like Motley Crue, Poison et al, since they achieved mass success around the same time (and to the untrained ear, all non-punk hard rock sounds alike I guess), but they actually had very little in common with them. First of all, the hairbands were from LA, Twisted was from New York and the difference shows in the sound, the next crucial difference. Ther hairbands roots were in Aerosmith and Queen, whereas the Sister were inspired by Alice Cooper & Motorhead* (and punk, there's an audible Dolls/MC5 influence especially on the first 2 albums, coutesy of former Dolls follower guitarist Jay Jay French). Also, the LA bands all had a pretty-boy like Vince Neil or Bret Micheals, whereas Dee Snider was unapologetically ugly. Plus, instead of hedonistic fantasy, the Sister seemed to be trying to actualy speak to the kids in their audience, both in their songs and videos and through their actions. Plus, they also included something many other metal bands lacked: humor, a willful stoopidness that embraced fun and goofery (that may have been inspired by both Snider's Alice Cooper and Ramones fanatacism and bassist Mark Mendoza's tenure in the Dictators.)

And when all the smoke cleared they left us some great songs and hilarious videos:

Under The Blade. This is the song that got Tipper Gore's panties in a twist. It also got them a tour spot with Motorhead. Lemmy is still a fan and friend of the outfit. and this song still rocks ferociously.

You Can't Stop Rock and Roll. Thhis is from the second album and (IMO) still the best piece of work they ever did. Musically harder than anything else in the catalog, it also shows their gleeful vulgarity at it's best.

The Kids Are Back. From the same album, showing them at their rocking best.

We're Not Gonna Take It. This is what put them ever-so-breifly in the national spotlight. It also shows the two keys to their appeal. First,it shows that they give a shit about their audience. As Dee said in an interview, maybe some kid getting chewed out by a parent might look at this and feel better about themselves. and it shows their humor.

I Wanna Rock. More of the same from the same album. A true anthem that expresses the age-old desire to simply crank up some noise and go crazy.

Two-Part Interview. A bonus.

* I did get to see them live in 1985 opening for Iron Maiden when I was 14. Dee is one hell of a frontman.